Thank you.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for the opportunity to present to you today along with our G4 and HEAL colleagues.
My name is Brian Stowe. I am president of the Canadian Pharmacists Association and an independent pharmacy owner here in Ottawa, at Carleton University. I am joined by my colleague, Janet Cooper, who is our senior director of professional affairs.
The Canadian Pharmacists Association, or CPhA, is the national voluntary organization of pharmacists. We are committed to providing leadership for the profession of pharmacy and to improving the health of Canadians.
You have been provided with a brief that outlines our recommendations and key issues. CPhA is involved in numerous initiatives to address HHR challenges, in particular those faced by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
Before I focus on the recommendations, let me give you some brief background.
Canada's 29,000 pharmacists represent the third-largest health care professional group. More than one-third of our pharmacists are under the age of 35. International pharmacy graduates, or IPGs, are a significant part of the pharmacy workforce, estimated at 20% to 30% of all pharmacists practising today.
Pharmacists are the medication experts of the health care system. The roles of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are evolving to better meet the pharmaceutical care needs of Canadians, and in particular with respect to primary care.
Licensing standards for pharmacists assure Canadians of appropriate and safe practices. The Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada assesses the qualifications of both Canadian and foreign graduates. Pharmacist mobility across Canada is facilitated by a mutual recognition agreement.
International pharmacy graduates specifically must meet the same standards of practice and have the knowledge and skills of Canadian-trained pharmacists. A key challenge for IPGs is learning how to “be a pharmacist” in Canada.
In the late 1990s, shortages in the pharmacist workforce became evident. It is now estimated that Canada has an unfilled demand for between 1,500 and 2,500 pharmacists in our current workplace.
This is at a time when concerns about the safe, appropriate, and cost-effective use of medication is at an all-time high, and when numerous reports, including those of Romanow and Kirby, have pointed to a role for pharmacists in optimizing pharmaceutical care.
The FPT governments have identified pharmacy as one of seven health professions to receive priority HHR action.
Work is now under way to improve planning in the pharmacy sector. A new study titled “Moving Forward—Pharmacy Human Resources for the Future” is a joint initiative led by CPhA and funded by HRSDC. As well, CIHI is developing a database of licensed pharmacists in Canada.
Today we offer you the following recommendations to support a coordinated approach to health human resources and to address specific challenges facing the pharmacy profession.
1. A pan-Canadian HHR strategy must emphasize patient safety and quality care and take a population needs-based planning approach.
2. A pharmacy-specific human resources plan must be developed to ensure a strong pharmacy workforce to meet the present and future pharmaceutical care needs of Canadians. This plan must be integrated into overall HHR planning.
3. Research and better data are needed. The “Moving Forward” study and the CIHI database will greatly improve this situation.
4. We all need to be open and committed to interdisciplinary care, with pharmacists contributing their expertise.
5. Current licensing standards for pharmacists need to assure Canadians of appropriate and safe pharmacy practice; a bar must not be lowered in an effort to license foreign-trained pharmacists.
6. Further initiatives are, however, needed to support qualified international graduates to become licensed and to integrate into pharmacy practice in Canada. This includes expanding the availability of bridging programs for these students.
7. In the longer term, Canada must become more self-sufficient in meeting its health workforce needs and should not depend on international graduates to make up our shortfall.
8. I would now like to speak on behalf of my colleagues from G4 and HEAL.
Health care providers must be at the table to support needs-based HHR planning. We want meaningful and ongoing engagement to exchange information and to support best practices and capacity building among governments, health professionals, and other stakeholders on cross-cutting HHR issues.
Finally, a permanent national HHR body such as an agency, institute, or centre needs to be set up to support a truly integrated approach to meeting the needs of Canadians. All stakeholders need to be involved. Such an organization would address a broad range of issues, including scopes of practice, integration of internationally trained health professionals, and healthy workplaces. This body should also support research on population health needs assessment and planning.
Thank you for your attention. Janet and I will be pleased to answer any questions you might have.